Production of fiber articles



Patented .Nov. 12, 1929 UNITED STATES mnynr. M. rnosr, on oarac mrcnrean PRODUCTION OF FIBER ARTICLES No Drawing. Application filed August 20,1927, Serial No. 214,440. Renewed May 1, 1928.

The present invention relates to the production of articles of compressed fibrous materials and particularly to a process of producing such articles and the articles produced thereby. 1

, Among the objects of the invention is an article of manufacture which is extremely compact, tough, waterproof and capable of taking an excellent finish.

Other objects will readily appear to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following description.

Heretofore, such articles of manufacture as chair or toilet seats, doors, boxes and the like have been usually made of wood pieces glued or otherwise secured together. Wood has been considered the only suitable material because of its plentifulness and also because of, its low heat conductivity. However, due to its property of absorbing moisture, it is difiicult if not impossible to build up an article, such as a toilet seat, from pieces of wood glued together and have the pieces adhere permanently. a

The present process produces an article that is not built up of pieces but is of homogeneous composition, waterproof and has all of the advantageous properties of wood.

The process is carried out by first forming a fluent pulp of fibrous material, such as ground wood pulp or pulp of rag fiber, Wastepaper, hemp, jute or even asbestos. To this pulp having preferably four to twenty per cent solids, is added rosin soap up to fifty per cent of the total solids. This mixture is agitated thoroughly and pumped into suitable dies where the water is expressed therefrom and the article formed under a pressure, depending on the article to be produced up to about 600 pounds per square inch. The formed article is then removed from the dies driedand rough finished if necessary.

After the drying step the article is then dipped in shellac and borax preferably three parts shellac to one part borax and allowed to remain for three to ten minutes or longer if necessary to allow this solution to impregnate to some extent after which it is to coo If it is desired to completely impregnate, the

5 article should remain in the said bath for a considerable period. The thus treated article is then painted if desired, and is ready to be marketed.

The treatment with shellac and borax by dipping and submerging for a short time is sufiicient for ordinary purposes but, if desired to impregnate deeply pressure methods such as are used in impregnating other porous material may be used. Such methods consists in submerging the article in the impregnating liquid in a closed vessel and subj ecting the liquid to a pressure or in first exhausting and then subjecting to pressure. The shellac and borax impregnation and superficial coating renders the compressed fiber article water proof and there is thus produced one that is strong and substantially permanent.

Now having described the invention and the preferred form of embodiment thereof it is to be understood that the said invention is to be limited, not to the specific details with water, mixing wit said pul a rosin soap expressing said water there rom and molding the fiber underhigh pressure drying and subjecting the molded article to an impregnation treatment with shellac and borax.

2. The process of producing homogeneous fiber articles which consists in forming a pulp of the fiber in finely divided conditions with water mixing with said pulp an adhesive expressing said water therefrom and molding the fiber under a pressure of up to six hundred pounds per square inch drying and subjecting the molded article to an impregnation treatment with shellac and borax.

3. An article of manufacture comprising a hard tough .body of finely divided organic fiber and an adhesive material coating and at least a superficial impregnation of shellac and borax.

MEYRL M. FROST. 

